Kathy Harston

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Kathy Harston, a longtime assistant under former University of Texas Hall of Fame coach Jody Conradt, has been hired as Basketball Operations Director at Tennessee.

Harston replaces Danielle Donehow, who left UT in April to become the Chief Operating Officer of the WNBA's Atlanta Dream.

"We are pleased to have Kathy join our staff," said Lady Vols head coach Pat Summitt. "She brings a wealth of experience and knowledge in all phases of the game and operations and will be a tremendous asset to the Lady Vol basketball efforts.

"Kathy is well-respected individual in the women's collegiate basketball world."

Harston served 18 years (1989-2007) as an assistant coach with the Longhorns. Upon Conradt's retirement in March of 2007, Harston was named as an academic counselor in the Texas athletics department.

The Southlake, Texas, native has a knack for working with Hall of Famers and icons in women's basketball. She cut her collegiate coaching teeth as a assistant coach under former head coach Marsha Sharp at Texas Tech University (1982-84).

"I am extremely appreciative of the opportunity presented to me by Pat Summitt and the University of Tennessee," said Harston. "With the retirement of Jody Conradt in March of 2007, I stepped away from the game and served in our Student Services department at Texas. Although I enjoyed that experience, being away from the game of basketball this year, after 21 seasons as a college assistant coach, showed me how much I missed it. I wanted to return to the game, and I examined some opportunities to get back into collegiate basketball. The opportunity at Tennessee is an amazing one.

"I am so fortunate to have worked closely with one Hall of Famer in Jody Conradt, and now I have a wonderful opportunity to work with another Hall of Famer in Pat Summitt," said Harston.

As an assistant at Texas, Harston's duties revolved around day-to-day coaching and practice responsibilities and opponent scheduling. Her primary focus was on coaching the Longhorn offense and handling the perimeter players.

During her 18 years at Texas, Harston helped the Longhorns to 14 NCAA tournament appearances (including Sweet 16 showings in 2002 and 2004, as well as a Final Four berth in 2003) and eight conference championships (five regular-season titles, three tournament championships).

Harston was a National Player of the Year candidate while starring at AIAW national powerhouse Wayland Baptist. She was selected as one of the "Top 25 Players of the Pre-NCAA Basketball Era" by ESPN.com in 2006.

Harston was a Kodak All-American and a finalist for the 1980 Wade Trophy National Player of the Year award at Wayland Baptist. She led the Flying Queens to the 1977 National Women's Invitational Tournament (NWIT) post-season tournament championship and to a fourth-place finish at the 1978 AIAW National Championship.

© 2008, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.